12 May 2022

Save the Children and the International Commission of Jurists have prepared a joint statement on the proposed EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, which has the potential to have a substantial impact on the conduct of businesses incorporated in and/or with operations in the European Union and the ability of these businesses to respect, protect and promote human rights and protect the environment, particularly if it embeds a more robust human rights and rights of the child approach.

It is therefore important to assess how this proposed Directive complies with the State obligation to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights and fundamental freedoms, the corporate responsibility to respect, and the need for rights and obligations to be matched to appropriate remedies. Such compliance is required under international law and standards, including human rights treaties and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

The impact of business activities on human rights, including children’s rights, has long been a matter of concern. So we also consider to what extent the proposed Directive relates to specific obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), as 196 States are party to this treaty including all EU Member States and the rights of the child are included in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Through General Comment 16, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has developed further guidance on State’s obligation under the CRC concerning the business sector.

Download the joint brief here.